Marlyn Glen said today that NHS Tayside has been placed in “a terrible situation because of underfunding by the Scottish Government.”

She was responding to a reply from the health board indicating how they intending to deal with the cuts ordered by the SNP Government resulting in almost 500 posts to go this year.

Ms Glen had written to NHS Tayside asking how they intended to shed – 500 jobs – 1 in every 20 posts in the health board in the current year – to achieve a saving of £4 million in “vacancy control management” without reducing front-line services or affecting patient care.

She asked also if posts held by those on maternity leave and long-term sickness would remain unfilled, and how a further £1 million was to be saved through measures affecting skill mix and bank and agency staff.

Ms. Glen commented,

” The Health Board told the Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee recently that there was a high risk that they would fail to achieve reductions in spending of £30 million in the current financial year.

“Consistent with NHS Tayside’s existing policy on recruitment to vacant posts, services are asked in the first instance to consider opportunities for the more effective utilisation of existing staff through internal recruitment or deployment.

“This helps ensure the continued development and progression of our existing workforce, matched both to current service need and to new roles emerging through service redesign.”